Permanent friction saver options.

I have throwlines in 3 of my trees that have been there for at least 5 years and are still in good shape. Once in a while I will forget to reattach it TL after i'm done climbing and then have to reset it.
 
Just to be clear about my friction saver, it's used only for the anchor rope that holds the ball-bearing pulley for my Ddrt 2:1 climbing rig. The anchor rope slides through the friction saver only when I'm setting up and taking down the climbing rig.

I don't recommend using the design for a rope moving under climbing loads.
 
I have a loops of #36 bank line hanging from TIPs in two oak trees in my yard. Measured the loops to hang right to the ground and use a scrap piece of PT 4x4 with an eye bolt to keep them from blowing in the wind (4x4 sits on ground with a little slack in the loop). When I’m ready to climb it’s easy to hoist up an E2E friction saver, or directly pull up a MRT or SRT rope. I don’t trust a permanent non natural TIP and this solution takes just a few min to setup a climb.
 
We removed the wood blocks as they were causing some damage to the tree trunk. We had an arborist install this for us and he did say that he felt the blocks were unnecessary but did not take it upon himself to remove them. We finally did remove them and the stainless steel ring hangs nicely about 3 inches from the tree trunk. The shackle has been wired so there is no chance of it coming loose. We keep a throw line tied to the climbing rope which is stored at the base of the tree. It is very simple to raise and lower this rope. We have a basal anchor equipped with a belay device for our 300 foot rope. This chain anchor is 70 feet up in our Douglas Fir tree. It is great exercise to ascend and descend this tree, taking almost 30 minutes for the ascent/descent. We can now see Protection Island from our canopy.0EE2BBD1-30E3-4D98-9535-9DB24893C7F7.jpeg
 
Able Feller said:
Go SRT and forget the friction saver...Just a thought
Click to expand...
I am not sure what you mean by your statement. We do climb with SRT using RADS/YoYo technique. The ”Permanent Friction Saver” is there so we can raise our single rope. We chose the basal anchor (vs Canopy Anchor) due to our ability to include a Belay Device (Petzl ID) that can be used if one of us needed to be lowered in the event of an emergency. I hope this clarifies our situation. We are having a blast!!!
 
Marie Muma said:
I am not sure what you mean by your statement. We do climb with SRT using RADS/YoYo technique. The ”Permanent Friction Saver” is there so we can raise our single rope. We chose the basal anchor (vs Canopy Anchor) due to our ability to include a Belay Device (Petzl ID) that can be used if one of us needed to be lowered in the event of an emergency. I hope this clarifies our situation. We are having a blast!!!
Click to expand...
Understood.
I've only used a friction saver in DRT since the rope is constantly moving, yet still new to the ropes - so my ignorance.
Just trying to see the big picture of what the goal is?
Reduced wear on the rope?
Reduced wear on the crotch/tree?
I believe throwing a line up each time and going up initially on SRT isn't going to cause much wear to either.
If moving around the tree for an extended period of time or by multiple climbers throughout the day, go up and install a friction saver on that initial ascent.
Personally, it's a better option than installing something "fixed/permanent" that will cause damage to the crotch/tree over time.
 
Able Feller said:
Understood.
I've only used a friction saver in DRT since the rope is constantly moving, yet still new to the ropes - so my ignorance.
Just trying to see the big picture of what the goal is?
Reduced wear on the rope?
Reduced wear on the crotch/tree?
I believe throwing a line up each time and going up initially on SRT isn't going to cause much wear to either.
If moving around the tree for an extended period of time or by multiple climbers throughout the day, go up and install a friction saver on that initial ascent.
Personally, it's a better option than installing something "fixed/permanent" that will cause damage to the crotch/tree over time.
Click to expand...
Since we climb this tree usually every other day, there will be less wear and tear on our nice climbing rope sliding over the stainless steel ring vs a branch. Also less wear and tear on the branch. We did put a nice rubber hose around the part of the chain that hugs the tree, which should minimize damage to the tree. The only time that there is weight on this is when we are climbing, so this seems NOT to be a lot of pressure on our tree. Throwing a line up 70 feet each time we climb is certainly not even an option. This is a Douglas Fir tree and we do not venture beyond the single rope. The ultimate goals are: physical fitness, spiritual connectivity to nature, and psychological confidence that we are actually doing this. I am 70 years old and really enjoy watching people’s reaction when I explain that we have embarked on this Recreational Tree Climbing Sport. This probably would not have happened if it had not been for this pandemic, which is crazy!!! Climbing never fails to put a smile on my face just at the thought of it. The real pipe dream is having our Barred Owl someday respond to my bluetooth speaker owl calls while I am up in the tree. Take care and stay safe.
 
Yes, indeed - Happy Birthday!! Feels sometimes like I am coming full circle being into tree climbing at age 70! My hubby and I also enjoy tricycles, recumbent motorized tadpole trikes, that is. We have 3.5 acres of a mostly forested home and are now anticipating adding zip lines to our property which has a great slope down the back. We found a company that makes a zipline trolley with a brake on it and will visit his 25 acres zip line home near Portland, Oregon very soon. The link is https://saferzip.com/ and the trolley is only $275!! Apparently, this is a DIY project for many as I have seen “kits” for sale on the internet. HOW FUN WILL THAT BE!! I am not seeking a thrill ride. I just want to glide through our trees.
 
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